How Frontier Co-op created a program hiring unhoused workers

The rate of homelessness has been rising since 2017, with nearly 600,000 people unhoused across the US in 2022, according to a tally by the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH). And while some experts argue that employment isn’t the only key to keeping people in their homes, an analysis from the Homelessness Policy Research Institute indicates that unemployment is “a prominent factor” in homelessness nationwide.

A University of Chicago survey found that 53% of those living in shelters in the US received employment earnings during the year they were observed, and 40.4% had some type of formal employment.

Frontier Co-Op, an organic food manufacturer in Iowa, recently began working with community organizations to recruit unhoused workers, creating job opportunities while also tapping into a potentially underutilized workforce.

Partnership approach. Megan Schulte, VP of human resources at Frontier Co-Op, told HR Brew that the company’s Breaking Down Barriers program works with a local homeless services organization to hire apprentices, starting the workers as contractors in an apprenticeship program.

Research from the NAEH has found that transportation is one of the barriers to good attendance for unhoused workers, so Frontier Co-Op provides shuttles to its manufacturing facility three times a day, five days a week. Additionally, the company offers lockers or a locked conference room where workers can safely store their belongings. “Many times, they want to bring their belongings with them. And that’s because they’ve lost everything else,” Schulte explained.

Kelsey Culver, employment services director at Willis Dady Homeless Services, told HR Brew that it provides ongoing support throughout each person’s apprenticeship with Frontier Co-Op and other companies they partner with. Case managers work with the apprentice’s direct manager to provide guidance for properly supporting them. Culver said managers must balance treating apprentices like any other employee, while also being mindful of their particular situation. Managers handle day-to-day work-specific communication, while the case managers step in if they hear about an issue that might be more related to their lack of permanent housing.

“When our employees go there, there’s no difference between them and another person,” Culver said. “If they need something or they’re struggling, that’s where that manager could pull them aside if they chose to.”

Culver said that for companies who set up hiring programs like Frontier Co-Op’s, it’s important to remember that contract employees are just as invested as permanent employees. “It’s just a different method of getting your foot in the door…Your contract employees also might want to have a career,” she said.

Lasting impact. Schulte said that some of the workers who come through the program decide to join as full-time employees, while others move on to different opportunities. Regardless, they’ve seen success for the company, and the apprenticeship program. Some 380 people have completed the program since it launched in 2018, and, according to Culver’s analysis, “over 50% of the people that we’ve hired on are no longer facing homelessness, so it shows you that just taking that one chance changes a life, and changes their path.”